Hurricane Irma is now a Category 4 hurricane with the 5 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. Meteorologist Jennifer Ketchmark has a quick video for you in the player above detailing why this is still a monster hurricane and why "downgrade" is not the way to describe it as it heads toward Florida this weekend.
The Red Cross estimates that 1.2 million people have already been battered by the storm and warned that it poses a serious threat to millions more.
The US National Hurricane Center issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for South Florida on Thursday night. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for many counties in South Florida, where residents have begun a mass exodus.
